Shadow and Moonlight
by Ms. Audrey G
Summary: AU. The Moon Kingdom had been destroyed, more than twenty years ago. In time, it turned into a tale, a reminder to children of the evil that used to exist. But a rumor began to spread. The Princess was alive. Someone, an ally, confirmed her existence. Beryl's life was in peril. Usagi knew what she had to do. She had to fight to protect her queen.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning**: This will be dark, gruesome, and have a hint of sexual themes and violence. Be advised that most of what I warn about will probably never occur. I will stay in the T-Rating; however, I might change it to M-Rating in the near future, if it becomes too violent. I will mix mythology with the anime. Remember, this is an alternative universe.

**A/N**: I was given a challenge from t-rex989_._ His challenge was to make Beryl enslave the Moon Kingdom and have the Sailor Scouts as handmaidens. Well, as you will see, I did not go with that, per say. The only thing I kept was the handmaiden idea. The plot was something I worked entirely on my own—still I give credit to him for giving me an idea. It may not have gone how he originally had hope but I hope he, and the rest of you, enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter One**

The Moon Kingdom.

It had been a few years since Usagi heard of that kingdom. Supposedly, the land was divine, blessed by the gods. Crystalized buildings, glistening waters, it glowed in white, a sign of its pureness.

Usagi began to laugh, amused that such kingdom was pure.

Ridiculous. Unbelievable. She could use many words to describe her incredulity. But she settled with rubbish.

From what she remembered, the Moon Kingdom had many allies. Those allies swore to protect one another. However, Earth was not part of their little circle. Usagi began to pace, racking her brain for the rest of the tale until the words formulated and eased her temper.

Earth did not have the mystic power that the guardians held. It was their lack of power that the earthlings were not accepted to their group. In fact, the guardians belittled the earthlings. Seeing as they held little mystical powers, they wanted to dominate them.

Or so they thought.

Usagi stopped in her pace, looking around the elegant room. There, high against the wall, a sword shined under the sunlight. Red rubies adorned the leather hilt. The silver metal shone with radiance. It spoke of power, of strength. Usagi imagined her queen looking magnificent with the sword in hand.

With that sword, her queen had fought the guardians of the galaxy. But strength alone did not assure her victory.

Usagi headed toward the dresser and picked up a dark crystal. In her hand, a heat flared from the crystal. It coiled against her skin, sapping away an inch of her power. It did little to harm her. She lived with the dark crystal her whole life, and it slowly began to recognize her as their master.

She returned the crystal back on the dresser, remembering how the crystal came to be.

Since the Moon Kingdom had many allies, her queen knew that she needed to use her dark magic. So with her virgin blood, and a piece of her skin, the dark crystal began to form, under the scorching sun. Many of their enemies did not stand a chance against her queen's power. Even the Earth King grew afraid of her. Because of his fear, he wanted to cease the war and promote peace. Her queen had no choice but to kill the fool before the enemy killed them.

Some rejoiced. Others did not.

Those who were against her needed help. Below her feet, several stories down, a dungeon laid of where the doubtful remained. With a little push, and love from her queen's lips, their mind gradually accepted the queen, without fear, without doubts.

Sometimes one had to break to see reality.

Something blue caught her sight. She grabbed it, remembering where it came from.

She held in her hand a tattered blue ribbon. The ribbon was around her arm when she was an infant. It had saved her from the cold when her queen had noticed the ribbon against the snow. Usagi would've died. She owed her queen her life; her gratitude of raising her when she had no family that existed.

Putting the ribbon on the nightstand, Usagi straightened her back as the bedroom door clicked open. Beautiful. Stunning. Her queen's radiance completed the room with life.

No one could compare to her.

Not even her.

There had been rumors that she held the same beauty as the queen. She found it hilarious. Plain, with a straight nose, a scar on her forehead, she did not see what others saw. She had the biggest eyes, a sky-blue iris, and long eyelashes. She had the smallest mouth, a big appetite, and a horrible laugh.

Her body was not evenly proportion. She had long arms, long fingers, a short waist, and thick legs. Small breasts. Chubby toes. Small feet. Light skin.

As for her hair, it hanged near her chin. She wished she had it long but her queen preferred it short. She had no choice to obey, never questioning her reason.

"Usagi," her queen called.

She raised her eyes and met her queen's gaze. Beryl, her queen, twisted a lock of her hair around her finger. It bounced when she let it loose, springing back in place with the rest of her hair. Her fingernail touched her cheek, trailing down her chin to her throat.

Amber eyes met sky-blue.

"Would you betray me, Usagi?"

"Never," Usagi responded.

Beryl pulled her hand away from her throat, only to focus on the scar on her forehead. Her thumb traced her marred skin. Usagi shuddered, feeling a tingle run down her spine.

She took in her queen as the queen touched her face.

Her beautiful red locks appeared secure in a bun. Some loose hairs curled around her cheek. A golden crown rested on top of her head. Her face held a youthful glow, no doubt the immortality in her veins contributed to that.

"Usagi," Beryl spoke against her cheek. "Would you die for me?"

Usagi closed her eyes, taking in the aroma of citrus and lilacs that belonged to her.

"Yes," she whispered.

Beryl smiled and pecked her cheek. "I'm pleased to hear that."

Ever since the rebellion started, her queen began to distrust her. She did not blame her, not when most of their allies betrayed her, joining the rebellion. Usagi blamed the four prisoners held in captive. The spawn of the guardians, princesses of a planet, had tried to attack the queen.

She clenched her fist, wishing that her queen would allow her to kill them.

As if reading her mind, Beryl warned, "Don't do anything that you'll regret."

Usagi held back her rage, not wanting the wrath of her queen. She consented and followed after her queen, toward the dungeon of where the captives slept. The guards stood in front of the cell door, and moved aside when Beryl approached.

The room that they entered barely held any light. Usagi grabbed a lantern to a side, brightening the room with an orange hue. On the ground, four women sat, powerless. The dark crystal had sapped most of their power. They posed little threat but Usagi remained alert.

She took in their appearance. Wavy skirts, tattered blouses, ribbons with orbs, each girl represented the color of their planet. They were beautiful, lethal creatures. She felt the dagger against her thigh, providing her a sense of security.

The raven spoke first. "I won't give in. I will have your head."

Beryl laughed. "You can try, Mars."

The amazon spoke next, with a threat behind her words. "When I regain my strength, you will beg for mercy."

Her queen looked amused. "I doubt that."

Their heavy breathing filled the room, words no longer exchanged. Usagi glanced at her queen. She hid her emotions behind a cold face and stared down at the enemy. It was the leader that broke her away from her queen to listen to her words.

"You may torture us. You may humiliate us."—her blue eyes lit passionately under the light—"But you will not break our resolve. We will find her, and we will win."

"She is dead."

"So you say," the leader quipped. "But she is alive. I can feel her. She is slowly awakening." A smile broke loose on her pretty lips. "Your reign will end."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Boredom had fallen upon Usagi. Sometimes she had a task to complete but at the moment she was rather free. Not that it disappointed her. She enjoyed a break every once in a while. No, that was not what bothered her. It was the fact that her queen had shunned her from many things.

No longer was she involved in strategy meetings or celebrations—not that there has been one since the prisoners arrived but she might as well conclude that her queen would block her from attending. Late at night, she would patrol and guard the castle, but now she had to stay in her room.

Queen Beryl distrusted her. Ever since that afternoon she had allowed herself to believe in what Venus had said. The Princess of the Moon was alive, and she would return to kill her queen. Those were the words of what the leader had stated. Feeble lies but it was enough to rattle her queen's composure.

Queen Beryl had then questioned Usagi about her loyalty again. When her answers did not satisfy her, she had probed her mind with tools. When her screams was not enough, she dug her nails into her skin, waiting for a retaliation.

Or so Usagi believed that was what she waited for.

She felt lost, confused, even betrayed. Her queen saw her as an enemy, and Usagi had a hard time unraveling the reason. She thought while she walked. Outside the castle, in the courtyard, she stepped on the fallen leaves, crunching under her heel. The maid, in white-and-yellow clothing, moved the broom to the right, pushing the leaves toward the hedges. The maid stopped for a moment, bowed her head toward Usagi and then continued when she was three feet ahead.

Usagi looked toward the garden.

The sun brightened the green scenery; red, purple and yellow flowers bloomed under the sunlight. The water glistened in the basin of the fountain. A pigeon fluttered down from the tree, pecking around the basin for a treat. The air smelled crisp and clean, no doubt from the autumn breeze.

The shifting of armor screeched the air. The serenity that Usagi felt disappeared. She kept her attention forward but glanced when Jupiter flipped through the air, cursing loudly at the men. Her neat ponytail slopped down her back; a few tendrils of her brown hair slipped from its band and rested against her ears.

Her battle uniform, which consisted of a wavy skirt and white blouse, been replaced with a long flair skirt and floral corset. Her wand of transformation was no longer in her possession. Although, even without it, she proved that she can still pack a strong punch.

The slip-on shoes she wore slid against the dirt, ruining the golden color. She blocked a punch, one of the bracelets snapping free from her wrist. The guard pushed her back. She almost lost her footing but quickly perfected her stance as the four men surrounded her.

To think her queen would allow their enemy to roam through the castle... Perhaps, it was another plan of hers. Usagi could no longer understand her queen's motives.

Usagi looked ahead and took a step but stopped.

One of the men flew past her vision, crashing into the brick wall. Another landed in the hedges, legs barely visible. The third man shouted, no doubt swinging his spear, wanting to smack the woman on her hip. Instead she heard the man grunt, catching her curiosity when she noticed the man fall on his knees, clutching his bloody nose.

Jupiter landed gracefully on her feet. Her fists were up in a second, ready to take down the last guard standing. But the guard pulled out a dark gem and shined it above his head. Dark tendrils emerged from the ground, wrapping around the woman's legs. It sapped her of her strength. Falling down on one knee, she could hardly breathe.

It was his moment to strike. He approached slowly, cautious of the woman in front of him. With determination, he held the spear above her head. He sought for her death.

Usagi could have walked away and pretend she saw nothing but anger held her back. The man had sapped Jupiter of her strength to win; it was a cheap trick, one that she was not fond of. Anger pulsed through her veins, pushing her to stand between Jupiter and the guard.

The guard stopped in surprise; his eyes showing his disbelief.

It was then she realized she had protected the enemy.

"Lady Usagi!" He lowered his weapon.

She could almost hear his disapproval behind his rigid stance. He gripped the spear tightly. Even her own men did not trust her.

"I'll take care of her," she said.

Hesitation screamed from his defensive posture. But slowly he eased away, bowing his head in respect and left the garden with the injured men behind him. The maid that swept the halls had left during the battle. Most likely she would tell the others of what she saw.

Heavy breathing filled the silent air. This was her opportunity. With her back given to the enemy, Jupiter could easily attack her. But she kneeled on the ground, hands spread apart, catching her breath.

Usagi dare not look back. She looked at her hands, labeling them as the hands of a betrayer. Clenching them, she had no choice but to turn to her enemy.

Jupiter lifted her head, looking directly into her eyes. She showed no fear—but Usagi noticed her clenched fists, amused that she still held some strength in her.

With a soft smile, she bent over and offered her hand.

They were both surprised. She for offering her enemy her hand; the other surprised that her hand laid out in front of her. It was too late to curl her fingers into her palm. The enemy had gradually rested her hand against her own.

Pulling her up, Usagi released her hand but Jupiter held tightly to her wrist. It was unnerving to have the enemy close and feel their palm against her skin. Frustration began to cloud her mind. With one look at her enemy, she opened her mouth to threaten her but her frustration disappeared when she took in the soft glow of her eye.

Then the corner of her lip rose and revealed a pretty smile.

"Thank you, Lady Usagi."

Jupiter then let her go and left from her sight.

Usagi never felt so confused.

What exactly was Jupiter thanking her for? Was it because she defended her? Was that why she felt grateful?

She did not want to think about it and pushed forward. But a red rose caught her eye followed by a golden locket hidden somewhat in the soil of the earth. She kneeled on the ground, spreading the dirt to a side, revealing a golden heart locket.

Usagi sat on her knees, confused on what laid in the palm of her hand. It felt familiar to her. Strange, considering she never seen it before. Rising on her feet, she felt a presence nearby.

She turned her head to a side.

Near the hedges, Mercury stood, devoid of emotion. She simply stared, unmoving, waiting patiently for…

…Usagi did not know what she was waiting for.

Before she spoke, Mercury had begun to leave.

* * *

**Notes: **Thank you for reading and reviewing. I'm glad that you are enjoying this, and I'm glad that I received advice about my writing. Any advice toward my writing is truly appreciated.


End file.
